The Philosopher Responds: An Intellectual Correspondence from the Tenth Century, Volume Two

Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī; Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh

Published by New York University Press 2019

The Philosopher Responds

An Intellectual Correspondence from the Tenth Century, Volume Two

Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī and Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh
Edited by: Bilal Orfali and Maurice A. Pomerantz
Translated by: Sophia Vasalou and James E. Montgomery

Volume 24 in the series Library of Arabic Literature

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479865444.001.0001

Overview
Contents

About this book

Questions and answers from two great philosophers

Why is laughter contagious? Why do mountains exist? Why do we long for the past, even if it is scarred by suffering? Spanning a vast array of subjects that range from the philosophical to the theological, from the philological to the scientific, The Philosopher Responds is the record of a set of questions put by the litterateur Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi to the philosopher and historian Abu 'Ali Miskawayh. Both figures were foremost contributors to the remarkable flowering of cultural and intellectual life that took place in the Islamic world
during the reign of the Buyid dynasty in the fourth/tenth century.

The correspondence between al-Tawhidi and Miskawayh holds a mirror to many of the debates and preoccupations of the time and reflects the spirit of rationalistic inquiry that animated their era. It also provides insight into the intellectual outlooks of two thinkers who were divided as much by their distinctive temperaments as by the very different trajectories of their professional careers.

Alternately whimsical and tragic, wondering and brooding, trivial and profound, al-Tawhidi’s questions provoke an interaction as interesting in its spiritedness as in its content. This new edition of The Philosopher Responds is accompanied by the first full-length English translation of this important text, bringing this interaction to life for the English reader.

A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Author / Editor information

al-Tawḥīdī Abū Ḥayyān :

Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī (d. 414/1023) was a prominent litterateur and philosopher in Baghdad.Miskawayh Abū ʿAlī :

Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh (ca. 320-421/932-1030) was a philosopher and historian born in Rayy.Orfali Bilal :

Bilal Orfali is Professor and Sheikh Zayed Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the American University of Beirut and previously held the M.S. Sofia Chair in Arabic Studies at the Ohio State University. He specializes in Arabic literature, Sufism, and Qur'anic Studies. He co-edits al-Abhath Journal and Brill’s series Texts and Studies on the Qur’an. He is the author and editor of more than twenty books on Arabic Studies. His recent publications include The Anthologist’s Art (Brill, 2016), The Book of Noble Character (Brill, 2015), The Comfort of the Mystics (Brill, 2013), Sufism, Black and White (Brill, 2012), and In the Shadow of Arabic (Brill, 2011).Pomerantz Maurice A. :

Maurice A. Pomerantz is Associate Professor of Literature at New York University Abu Dhabi. He is the author of Licit Magic: The Life and Letters of al-Sahib b. 'Abbad.Vasalou Sophia :

Sophia Vasalou is Senior Lecturer and Birmingham Fellow in Philosophical Theology at the University of Birmingham. Her books include Moral Agents and their Deserts: The Character of Mu'tazilite Ethics, Wonder: A Grammar, and Ibn Taymiyya’s Theological Ethics.Montgomery James E. :

James E. Montgomery is Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity Hall. His latest publications are Fate the Hunter: Early Arabic Hunting Poems, and Kalīlah and Dimnah: Fables of Virtue and Vice, with Michael Fishbein.Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī (Author)
Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdī (d. 414/1023) was a prominent litterateur and philosopher in Baghdad.

Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh (Author)
Abū ʿAlī Miskawayh (ca. 320-421/932-1030) was a philosopher and historian born in Rayy.

Bilal Orfali (Editor)
Bilal Orfali is Professor and Sheikh Zayed Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the American University of Beirut and previously held the M.S. Sofia Chair in Arabic Studies at the Ohio State University. He specializes in Arabic literature, Sufism, and Qur'anic Studies. He co-edits al-Abhath Journal and Brill’s series Texts and Studies on the Qur’an. He is the author and editor of more than twenty books on Arabic Studies. His recent publications include The Anthologist’s Art (Brill, 2016), The Book of Noble Character (Brill, 2015), The Comfort of the Mystics (Brill, 2013), Sufism, Black and White (Brill, 2012), and In the Shadow of Arabic (Brill, 2011).

Maurice A. Pomerantz (Editor)
Maurice A. Pomerantz is Associate Professor of Literature at New York University Abu Dhabi. He is the author of Licit Magic: The Life and Letters of al-Sahib b. 'Abbad.

Sophia Vasalou (Translator)
Sophia Vasalou is Senior Lecturer and Birmingham Fellow in Philosophical Theology at the University of Birmingham. Her books include Moral Agents and their Deserts: The Character of Mu'tazilite Ethics, Wonder: A Grammar, and Ibn Taymiyya’s Theological Ethics.

James E. Montgomery (Translator)
James E. Montgomery is Sir Thomas Adams’s Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity Hall. His latest publications are Fate the Hunter: Early Arabic Hunting Poems, and Kalīlah and Dimnah: Fables of Virtue and Vice, with Michael Fishbein.

Reviews

A marvel of literary finesse, of an English style seemingly able to match the often ornate prose of the Arabic... A pleasure to read throughout.

This publication not only offers a new critical reference edition of the Arabic text, but also, through an elegant and fluent English translation, makes this unique work accessible to an audience of non-specialists.

A fascinating read, particularly for the aspiring scholar of classical Arabic texts, who will benefit from a solid English translation alongside the original Arabic.

Tawhidi’s questions are often epigrammatic essays; they assert the limits of human reason and dwell on man’s 'deficiencies,' while evincing a Johnsonian keenness towards observing the contradictions of the human character, the fortunes of life and the spirit of the age. . . . There was no better recorder of his distempered century than Tawhidi; but there was also no other thinker of his time whose disillusioned and restless spirit is more modern, or whose character comes across more strongly in his writings.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Letter from the General Editor Publicly Available Download PDF	iii
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Map: Buyid and Neighbouring Lands Publicly Available Download PDF	xii
On the influence of companions on a person’s character and on the benefits of companionship Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	2
On why people scorn certain forms of ostentatious demeanor and why individuals aren’t simply allowed to do as they please Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	4
On what the soul seeks in this world and on the nature of human beings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	6
On the nature and attributes of God Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	10
On why people experience fear in the absence of an apparent cause Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	10
On why people fly into a rage when they can’t open a lock Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
On why people with small heads have light brains Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	14
On certain beliefs concerning the relation between a person’s facial hair and his character Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
On why people racked by suffering find it easy to face death Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
On why people denigrate things they fail to attain and are hostile to things of which they are ignorant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	20
On why it is easier to make enemies than friends Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	22
On why atheists act morally Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
On why some people willingly become the butt of other people’s jokes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	26
On why people love to occupy positions of eminence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
On why we honor people for the achievements of their ancestors but not those of their progeny Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
On why the progeny of illustrious people evince an elevated sense of entitlement and self-importance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
On whether it would be more consistent with the true order of things if all people were honored equally Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
On different forms of divination Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	38
On why some people dislike being addressed as “old man” while others relish it Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
On why people take comfort from knowing they are not alone in their misfortune Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
On the virtues of different nations, such as the Arabs, Byzantines, Persians, and Indians Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	48
On why intelligent people are more susceptible to grief Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
On why intrinsic merit and worldly fortune do not coincide Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	54
On the meaning of coincidence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	64
On the nature of compulsion and choice Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	66
On the reason for the wanderlust experienced by certain people Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	74
On why people desire knowledge, and on the benefits of knowledge Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	78
On why people and other animals respond so powerfully to certain kinds of sounds and musical effects Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	82
On why older people are more liable to hope; on the meaning of “hope” and related terms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
On why women are more jealous than men; on the nature and moral status of jealousy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	88
On why more people die young than die old Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
On why people seek likenesses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
On why we find it easier to represent extreme ugliness in our imagination than exquisite beauty Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
On why sudden joy affects people so violently Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	102
On why we experience states of suffering more intensely than states of well-being Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	104
On why seeing someone laughing causes others to laugh Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	106
On why human beings are so attached to the world despite the misfortunes and suffering they experience in it Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	108
On why people say the world would fall to ruin if it weren’t for fools Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
On the anxiety experienced by people who have something to hide Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
On why we are more likely to heed a preacher who practices what he preaches Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
On why Arabs and non-Arabs declare their pedigrees in times of war Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
On why people distinguish between different kinds of air, water, and earth, but not different kinds of fire Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
On why people feel happier when they unexpectedly obtain something they weren’t seeking than when they obtain what they were seeking Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	126
On why fine edifices fall to ruin when left uninhabited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
On why men of sublime character beget knaves Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	130
On why our longing for home grows more intense the nearer we come to it Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	130
On the meaning of the dictum that judgement sleeps while passion keeps watch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
On a remark concerning logic made by the dialectical theologian Abū Hāshim to the philosopher Abū Bishr Mattā Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	136
On why some Arabic words are feminine and others masculine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	138
On whether a human being could know everything Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	140
On why new incumbents are harsh toward the officials they replace Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	142
On why human beings are considered to be orphans after losing their father rather than their mother Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
On why chess is so hard to master Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	146
On why people dislike changing their name or patronymic, and why they have a sense of aversion toward certain names and titles Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	148
On the mannerisms of people whose mind is preoccupied, and on why people have so many different ways of behaving when they feel anxious or unhappy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
On different ways of approaching God’s attributes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	154
On why we find it easier to remember what is correct than what is defective Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
On why prosodists tend to produce flat poetry Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	160
On the meaning of the dictum that the learned live longer than the ignorant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	164
On why it is harder to speak eloquently than to write eloquently Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	166
On the significance of the fact that human beings are the only animals to stand upright Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	168
On why certainty is less enduring than doubt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	170
On why we laugh harder when a person keeps a straight face Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
On the meaning of the scholars’ proposition that a rare instance attracts no ruling Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
On the possibility of certain kinds of coincidences obtaining Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	176
On the role of analogical reasoning in the linguistic sciences Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
On whether God created the world for a cause Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
On why a life of comfort makes people feel oppressed and leads them to behave wantonly Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	182
On why some things are best when they’re new and others are best when old Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184
On why people who display great piety are prone to arrogance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	186
On why a warm manner is more pleasing than a cold benefaction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	188
On why those closest to a king are less inclined to prattle about his person than those at the farthest remove from him Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	192
On Ibn Sālim al-Baṣrī’s claim that God perceived the world while it was nonexistent Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	194
On why the poets love to dwell on the apparitions that come to them in their sleep Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
On why people are reluctant to advertise their merits Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	198
On the relative merits of verse as against prose Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
On why people feel oppressed when things are prohibited to them Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	202
On why preachers are affected by stage fright when addressing large audiences Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
On the anxiety that affects onlookers when they see preachers affected by stage fright Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	206
On why we hate hearing the same thing twice Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
On whether the religious Law can conflict with human reason Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	210
On a remark made by Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb concerning the possibility of uttering something that is completely false versus something completely true Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	218
On why excellent souls find repose in the truth and find falsehood repugnant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	220
On a question put by Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb concerning why animals are generated inside plants but plants are not generated inside animals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	222
On the nature of alchemy and why people are so enamoured of it Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	224
On a question put by Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb concerning the difference between the words “indeterminable” and “impenetrable” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	230
On the disagreements between jurists Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	230
On why people despise kings who are governed by pleasure and fear kings governed by reason Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	238
On the physical reactions people exhibit when listening to music Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	240
On why liars often tell the truth but not the reverse, and on whether habits can change Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	244
On certain popular sayings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	246
On the distinction between different forms of divination Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	248
On why there are four categories for inquiry: whether, what, which, and why Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	250
On the nonexistent Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	254
On why a physician rejoices at the recovery of his patient Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	256
On why money is made of silver and gold and not other substances Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	258
On the specific time when the soul attaches itself to the body Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	264
On whether souls can recollect what they used to know after leaving the body Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	268
On why mountains exist Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	270
On why there are three souls Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	274
On why the sea is located on a particular side of the earth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	276
On why seawater is salty Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	278
On how we can see things in our sleep without an organ of sense perception Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	278
On a puzzle concerning the possibility of seeking something we do not know Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	280
On why it does not snow in the summer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	282
On the proof for the existence of angels Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	284
On what justifies the suffering of children and non-rational animals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	286
On why it takes us longer to hear thunder than to see lightning Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	288
On the possibility that a person may abandon every belief he adopts ad infinitum Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	290
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	295
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	299
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	304
Further Reading Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	308
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	309
About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	318
About the Typefaces Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	319
Titles Published by the Library of Arabic Literature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	320
About the Editor–Translators Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	324

Language: English
Publisher: New York University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;

eBook

Published: October 8, 2019
ISBN: 9781479865444